First Northern Community Bancorp Reports Third Quarter 2023 Net Income of $4.6 Million

First Northern Community Bancorp (the “Company”, OTCQB: FNRN), holding company for First Northern Bank (“First Northern” or the “Bank”), today reported net income of $14.7 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, up 31.5% compared to net income of $11.2 million, or $0.77 per diluted share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2022. Net income for the year includes the bargain purchase gain resulting from our acquisition completed in the first quarter of 2023. On an after-tax basis, the bargain purchase gain contributed $1.0 million to net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 was $4.6 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, compared to net income of $4.6 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2022.

Total assets as of September 30, 2023 were $1.90 billion, a decrease of $30.4 million, or 1.6%, compared to September 30, 2022. Total deposits as of September 30, 2023 were $1.75 billion, a decrease of $53.3 million, or 3.0%, compared to September 30, 2022. Total net loans (including loans held-for-sale) as of September 30, 2023 were $1.0 billion, an increase of $66.2 million, or 6.8%, compared to total net loans (including loans held-for-sale) of $971.2 million as of September 30, 2022. The increase in net loans was primarily driven by growth in commercial real estate and residential mortgage loans partially offset by net reductions in commercial and agricultural loans.

The Company continued to be “well capitalized” under regulatory definitions, exceeding the 10% total risk-based capital ratio threshold as of September 30, 2023.

Commenting on the Company’s third quarter 2023 financial results, First Northern’s President & Chief Executive Officer Jeremiah Smith stated, “We are pleased with our continued performance momentum. Despite the inflationary economic environment we find ourselves in, loan growth continues, though at a slower pace than last year. The industry as a whole has experienced weakening loan demand. Loan growth coupled with rising interest rates helped to boost year-to-date net interest income to $49.6 million, an increase of 27.7% over the same period last year. Our credit quality remains strong with non-performing assets decreasing 31% over the same period in 2022.”